Florida governor Ron DeSantis and law enforcement have been working to stop illegals from driving trucks in the state.
Lt. Greg Bueno of the Florida Highway Patrol said they pull over drivers on a daily basis that can not speak or read the English language.
He said it is tremendously dangerous to drive in Florida without being able to read the street signs.
The issue came up after a triple fatality crash on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County this summer where the driver, an illegal from India, could not read English. He attempted to make a dangerous U-turn with a tractor trailer on the turnpike.
‘We have traffic laws in Florida and the United States and we want everyone to abide by them. To abide by it you have to know what the signs are telling you to do and what the expectations are. That is on you as an individual,” Lt. Bueno said.
He said both federal and state statute allow law enforcement to put the driver out of service if they pull over a driver who can’t read.
“Our commercial vehicle section stops cars and trucks every day for weight violation, licensing issues and language issues.”
Okeechobee City Council voted unanimously not to vacate city right of way in the Okeechobee Estates Trailer Park.
The new owner of the park wants to make improvements but some of the trailers are encroaching on city right of ways.
The city continues to work with them to try and see improvements in the park located on SE 6th Avenue.
Mayor Dowling Watford reassured residents that they would not be evicting those whose trailers are located on city rights of way.
“We don’t want a future council 50 years from now to have to address that. We don’t want it to become worse. I don’t think any of us want you to lose your home.”
Resident Scott Everly said he didn’t want to leave his home.
“What is the big deal? Even if you took the property what are you going to use it for? Are you going to park a few cars on it? Or are you going to kick us all off of it?”
Okeechobee City Council said they supported an effort to improve Veterans Memorial Park downtown. The veterans would like to add a field gun or artillery.
They also want to put in a statue for each branch of the military. It is estimated to cost $64,000 per statue.
Okeechobee Main Street is among the groups interested in helping raise funds for the improvements.
A 32 year old Port St. Lucie man faces four criminal charges after Okeechobee Police said they found children in a running vehicle unattended.
The incident report said two children had been in the vehicle for 45 minutes.
Stetson Hall said the children, two girls ages 3 and 4, were only left in the vehicle for 15 minutes and he was caring for other children in the home. He said they were 100% okay because there was a DVD player in the vehicle.
The officers said Hall became increasing hostile and got into the officers faces and refused to obey lawful commands. He admitted to drinking five or six shots of whiskey.
Hall suffered a bloody nose during the incident and was treated at HCA Raulerson Hospital.
Charges include child neglect, leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle, battery on law enforcement and resisting arrest with violence.
A $129,000 bond was set against a Naples man accused of trying to smuggle marijuana and other contraband into Okeechobee Correctional on Oct. 12.
An arrest report from Okeechobee County Sheriff Deputies stated Joshua Schroder was spotted by prison guards walking in the dark near the perimeter fence just after 3 a.m.
A crew of guards chased after him into the pasture and detained and located a back pack.
Inside the backpack deputies said the guards located 210 cigarettes, a new cell phone, various items of drug paraphernalia, THC, batteries and marijuana.
They also found another package hidden under a nearby trailer that contained 210 cigarettes.
Schroder was arrested on a Collier County warrant. In Okeechobee he will face four charges of possession of contraband on state prison grounds, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, drug possession and loitering and prowling.
An angry parent was held on $100,000 bond for allegedly locking up a 16 year old girl he suspected had sex with a boy or boys in Basswood.
Noe Romeo, 39, is accused of falsely imprisoning the child in a home made dog cage for 10 minutes and with locking her in her bedroom for 10 hours Sunday night.
Okeechobee deputies arrested him on a charge of aggravated child abuse.